


They were Roommates

by emmy_beans



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - College/University, First Kiss, First Meetings, Lots of Cliches, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Nuru’s always right, Omigod they were Roommates, POV Third Person, POV Varian, no Yong I’m sorry, slight angst, they were roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25342657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmy_beans/pseuds/emmy_beans
Summary: Varian is a freshman at Corona University. During his first week at school, he has a run in with a boy that spills coffee on his shirt. What follows is what happens when said boy is also your roommate.
Relationships: Hugo/Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 47





	They were Roommates

Varian was late for class. Again.

It wasn’t his fault he kept telling himself. He set alarm after alarm but he just couldn’t seem to be able to wake up early. Every morning was the same: wake up 5 minutes before class started, change out of pajamas, brush teeth in five seconds and then basically sprint across the campus to his first class. Which, by the way, was about a ten minute walk on a non busy day.

It’s been like this for a week. That may not seem like a long period of time but that was how long he had been at Corona University. And his roommate didn’t seem to care enough to wake him up for class. 

Said roommate he hasn’t even met yet. They had completely different schedules. That or his roommate was purposely trying to avoid him. Varian didn’t mind. Frankly he was glad for the lack of distractions. He just wanted to graduate and then move on with his life without having anyone sidetrack him from his goals. And so far so good.

That particular day, though, completely shit on his goals. He was sprinting to class, bag half packed and hair a mess, his mind elsewhere and he wasn’t looking where he was going. That’s probably why he ran headon into someone and felt something warm spread onto his shirt. His white shirt. 

Neither him nor the other person fell, luckily. Varian reeled back and looked down at his shirt that was stained with a dark liquid. He lifted it up to his nose and sniffed. His nose wrinkled. Coffee. He had hot coffee spilled onto his shirt. Great. Just great.

“Whoops! Sorry about that!” the coffee-spiller laughed. Varian glared up at the perpetrator who was about 6 inches taller than him. He had blonde hair that was long in the back and tied in a ponytail, obnoxiously green eyes and glasses that covered most of his face. He wore a green jacket and loose jeans with a smirk on his face that made Varian want to slap him. “Man that’s unfortunate.” Wonderful. He must’ve noticed the fact that Varian’s shirt was white and the stain most likely wouldn’t be easily hidden. 

Varian gritted his teeth. “Yeah, you think?” He didn’t even try to wipe at it, he just sighed. “Sorry for running into you,” he muttered. “I gotta go.” He made to go past the blonde stranger but said stranger stopped him.

“You’re going to class like that?” he asked. “Do you want to be made fun of? Are you some kind of masochist?”

Varian yanked his arm away. “What other option is there? I’m already late.”

The stranger tapped his chin in thought. “I have one option.” He took off his jacket and held it up to Varian. Varian’s face scrunched up. He couldn’t be serious. The stranger seemed to read his mind because a shit-eating grin spread across his face. “What, you’d rather go into class with a giant brown stain?” He shrugged. “Okay, man. You’re funeral.”

Varian snatched the jacket from him and put it on, zipping it up to his chin. “Thanks.” He wasn’t sure if his voice was audible or not. His face felt warm. 

The stranger chuckled. “No problem. You look good in it anyway.” He winked.

Oh no. No no no. He did not. Varian did not have time for this. He ducked his head. “I have to go. I’m seriously late.” He went around the stranger trying not to catch his eye and slowly broke into a run.  
“Study hard!” the stranger yelled after him. Laughter followed this and Varian’s face burned further. He broke into a sprint and refused to look back.

And if in class, someone sniffed around and said, “Is there coffee?”, he wouldn’t say anything about that. 

Varian collapsed onto his bed face first, still wearing the stranger’s jacket. His classes were one right after the other and by then it was nearly 1 and he was starving and exhausted. Plus he still smelled faintly of coffee. He needed a shower, a change of clothes, a nap and a ham sandwich.

Groaning, he rolled over onto his back and sat up as the door opened. He froze. Was his roommate really showing up now out of all days? He felt his breath catch as the door widened and in stepped… the stranger from before.

They stared at each other in silence, Varian’s jaw open and the stranger looking as if someone had just slapped him. It was 5 minutes before the stranger started laughing. “Of course my roommate happens to be the same person I spilled my coffee on! Of course!” He slapped his leg and doubled over, clutching his stomach.

Varian got over his shock and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not that funny,” he said. 

The stranger straightened and wiped at his eyes. “Yes. Yes it is.” He choked back another bout of laughter. “Sorry, sorry.” He didn’t look very sorry. “That was a poor introduction.” In a few swift steps, he was over by Varian, hand outstretched. “I’m Hugo McCoy.”

Varian took his hand warily. “Varian Ruddiger.”

Hugo took his hand back, grin still on his face. He pointed at Varian. “I see you’re still wearing my jacket, Ruddiger.”

Varian looked down quickly and felt a blush rise to his face. “Ye-yeah.” He cursed his stutter. “Well, I didn’t exactly have time to make a bathroom stop.”

His roommate nodded in an understanding yet somehow exaggerated way. “Sure sure, I get it man. I stand by my statement by the way.” He looked too cheeky for Varian’s liking. “You look much better in it than I do.” 

Varian rolled his eyes. “Is that like your only line?”

“I’ve got more. Want to hear them?”

He leveled him with a glare. “Pass.”

Hugo held up his hands in surrender. “Alright, don’t get so touchy, Hairstripe.”

His eyes narrowed further. “Hairstripe?”

Hugo waved his hand up at Varian’s hair. “You got a blue streak in your hair.”

On instinct, Varian reached up like he was going to cover it. “Hey don’t be ashamed,” Hugo said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Even though he said to not be ashamed, a flush made its way onto Varian’s face. “It’s natural,” Varian said, voice low. “Don’t ask how.”

Hugo raised a pale eyebrow. “Did you just say it’s natural? What, are you part Smurf?” He chuckled. “That would explain the height.”

Now Varian’s flush was indignant. “I’m not that short! Just because you’re built like a beanpole-”

Hugo laughed. “A beanpole! Man, you’re vocabulary is massive. Did you swallow a dictionary as a child?”

What was this guy’s deal? Varian felt his anger level rise. He unzipped the jacket, shook it off quickly and then tossed it at Hugo. It hit his chest and fell to the floor. Hugo blinked. “It smells like coffee now,” Varian bit out. “I’d wash it.”

Hugo blinked again before his face settled into an annoyed look. That was new. “Don’t tell me to wash my jacket when your shirt looks like you took a bath in coffee.”

“Who’s fault is it that the coffee spilled in the first place?”

“Uh, yours. Maybe if you woke up sooner you wouldn’t have to rush to class everyday.”

Varian felt his mouth open in indignation. “If you woke me up every once in a while, maybe I would wake up sooner.”

“Yes please blame me because you don’t set an alarm every day.”

“I do set an alarm!”

“Really?” Hugo looked skeptic. “I never seem to hear one. Tell me, do you set it at a frequency that only dogs can hear?”

“You just don’t hear it,” Varian replied hotly, “because you’re gone by the time it goes off. What, do you wake up at like 5 every morning? Do you have a girlfriend or something that wants to meet before school everyday?”

“Yep you caught me,” Hugo said, voice bland. “I have a girlfriend who wakes up at 5 in the morning just so we can make out before classes start.”

Was he joking? Varian honestly couldn’t really tell. He cleared his throat. “Whatever. Just wherever you go, don’t get coffee.”

Hugo nodded solemnly. “Yes master. Anything else?”

He resisted throwing a shoe at him. He stared down at his bedspread in frustration. He was still hungry and he still smelled like coffee. Not gracing Hugo with an answer, he slipped off his bed and padded over to his closet to search for a new not white shirt. He could feel Hugo’s eyes on him. After selecting a shirt, Varian turned around. “What’s your major?” he asked lightly. An abrupt topic change but a necessary one. If they continued the conversation they’d been having, Varian couldn’t promise that harm wouldn’t be done. 

Hugo seemed a bit put off but he replied, “Chemistry.”

That was Varian’s major too. He bit his lip. “Same.”

Hugo tilted his head. “Funny how we don’t have classes together then. Have you been avoiding me, Hairstripe?”

“Don’t call me that,” Varian snapped immediately. “And besides, it feels more like you’re avoiding me. It’s been a week and this is the first time I’ve seen you.” His eyes narrowed. “Why are you even here anyway?”

Hugo rubbed at the back of his neck. “My class ended early today because my teacher had a wine headache.”

Varian’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“No.” Hugo grinned as Varian rolled his eyes in annoyance. “But she did have a headache so we watched YouTube videos for half an hour before she just let us go. I came back here to get my ID to get lunch.” He batted his eyes at Varian. Varian stilled. “You could come with me. It’ll be my treat and as a payment for spilling my coffee on you. And then every second we spent talking together these past few minutes.”

Varian mulled it over in his head. On one hand, the last thing he wanted was to spend time with Hugo. On the other hand, he was really hungry and it would be nice not to have to pay for once. He clenched the shirt he was holding. “I need to change,” he said, praying his voice didn’t come out short.

Hugo beamed. “Lovely! Get changed, Hairstripe, and quickly before I lose my appetite.” He made a shooing gesture at him. Varian huffed and turned on his heel.

This was his roommate. Hugo McCoy.

This was going to be a long year. 

There was a small cafe in the middle of campus that everyone flocked to like a murder of crows. One could be expected to find it full and bustling every day of the week. And of course, that’s where Hugo decided to take Varian as recompense.

Hugo was wearing his jacket again and Varian kept catching a whiff of espresso everytime the wind changed direction. He shouldn’t judge, though. Despite all the scrubbing he did in the bathroom, there was just a hint of coffee on him that he could smell whenever he sat down. He cringed as he took a seat with Hugo at a table near the window. What did they put in that coffee that made the scent so strong? And permanent?

Hugo must’ve caught onto his thoughts because he smirked. Varian was starting to hate that stupid smirk. “I get coffee every morning,” he said with no preamble. Varian felt a sigh building up in his chest. “Same place, same order. The workers know my name and my face.” He winks. “Makes me a shoe-in for dates.”

Varian released the sigh. “You get a lot of those?”

His roommate looked at him, face serious. “Isn’t that what this is?”

Varian threw a straw wrapper at him. Hugo laughed.

“Okay, okay, Hairstripe. We’ll get there eventually.”

“Sure sure,” Varian said offhandedly. “Is the food ready?” 

Hugo leaned back in his chair. “We just ordered. Calm yourself.”

How could he? He was starving. Hugo had his coffee, Varian had his ham sandwiches. 

“So.” Hugo put his hands palm down on the table, slamming it just enough for it to make noise. “You’re my roomie.”

Varian crossed his arms. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Tell me about yourself.”

“What is this, a job interview?”  
That smirk was back. Varian refused to let it affect him. “Humor me, Ruddiger.”

Varian rolled his eyes yet a small smile creeped on his lips. He told Hugo about his dad, a good, hardworking farmer and war veteran who was admittedly surprised when Varian got a scholarship to CU. He told Hugo about Ruddiger (he wasn’t good at names when he was 10), his small gray terrier who he loved more than anything in the world.

Hugo in turn told him about his pet mouse Olivia (“Interesting pet and name choice,” Varian had remarked. Hugo gave him a shut up look) and how he wanted to go to CU because of his mother. “What major was she?” Varian asked.

Hugo shrugged. “Marketing or something. I don’t know.” And that was that.

Soon, the food arrived and Varian’s mind blanked. He snarfed down his food as Hugo watched in amusement. “How can you eat so much,” he mused, “yet still be so small?”

Instead of responding with words, Varian simply shoved a sandwich in his mouth and flipped him off. Hugo laughed loudly. “I like you, Hairstripe.”

“Varian,” Varian said around a mouthful of food. 

Hugo ignored him. “So, look, we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together. I mean, we’re roommates, right?”

A thought popped into Varian’s mind as he swallowed. “You’re right. Therefore, I’ll lay down ground rules.”

“Therefore?” Hugo asked. “How old are you?”

Varian plowed forward, using the hand not clutching his napkin to tick off his fingers. “No bringing anyone to our room on a school night. If you do bring someone, tell me so I can be prepared to leave the room. Also, I don’t want you walking into our room drunk on school nights either. I don’t want to deal with vomit or hangovers.”

Hugo rolled his eyes. “Okay Dad.” He slouched in his seat and took a bite of his sandwich. Turkey and cheese. On a lower tier than ham and cheese but still up there. “I’m guessing that means no fun either? Your way or the highway?”

Varian huffed. “No. On weekends, I could care less about what you do. But it’s not just your space. It’s ours. If we have to share a room for a year, we need to learn how to share.”

“Fair point,” Hugo said. “But question: you’re fine with me wandering into our room late at night on Saturday drunk and then vomiting on our floor?”

A feeling of unease settled onto Varian. “That sounds too specific.” His eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

Hugo took a sip of his drink and stared out the window. Varian put his head in his hands. He did notice a stain but figured that it had always been there and he just didn’t notice. However, he gave Hugo credit for being able to sufficiently cover up his mess. “You’re exhausting,” Varian said into his hands, “and I’ve only known you for an hour.”

“It’s a gift.” Hugo set his drink down, leveling Varian with a serious face. Varian couldn’t tell if he was trying to be serious or not. “If you’re laying down ground rules, I’m joining in on this party. No staying up all night studying.”

Varian gasped, offended. “I do not stay up all night studying.” He paused. The memory of him downing 2 5 hour energy drinks and 3 cups of coffee resurfaced in his mind. But that was senior year of high school. “And even if I did, it’s for a good cause.”

“Hairstripe,” Hugo drawled, “all that studying will go to waste if you’re tired to function the next morning and you can hardly even see the test in front of you.”

Varian could feel himself pout. Dammit, he was right. “Fine. I’ll stay up until 1 then.”

“12.” 

“12:30.”

“Deal.” Hugo stuck his hand out to Varian and he reluctantly took it. Hugo’s hands were surprisingly soft and Varian jerked his hand back quickly. Hugo raised a brow but said nothing. He picked his drink back up and took a sip. “Look at us, working through our problems like good roomies.”

Varian took the other half of his sandwich and munched on it. “Don’t call us roomies.”

“What else should I call us? Dorm buddies? Cell mates?” From the top of his cup, Hugo smirked at him. “Boyfriends?”

Varian threw a crumb at Hugo. “In your dreams.”

Hugo just chuckled into his cup. “You know what they say, Hairstripe. Dream big.”

Varian shook his head at him and took another bite of his sandwich. Soon, the two were on their way back to their dorms to get their stuff for their next class. Varian was fiddling with his shirt as Hugo slouched at his side, hands in his pockets. Out of the corner of his eye, Varian examined him. He couldn’t figure him out. Was he a nerd or a douche? A genius or a dumbass?

A cool flirt or a desperate freak? 

He used to pride himself on being able to read people. He could tell someone’s personality just by being around them for a few hours. This led to others asking why he didn’t have more friends. He responded with, “I understand people but I don’t always enjoy being around them.” That got them to shut up and go away.

But with Hugo, Varian couldn’t piece him together. He was a bundle of contradictions and that frustrated Varian to no end. He seemed serious about college yet he was out partying on school nights. He seemed chivalrous when he gave Varian his coat but he also made fun of Varian’s height. Varian couldn’t tell who he was or what he wanted. He was determined to figure it out.

They stopped in front of their dorm room door and Hugo turned to Varian. “You know,” he said slowly, instantly making Varian suspicious, “despite all of our quarreling, I did enjoy our little date.”

For some ridiculous reason, Varian felt himself start to warm. “It wasn’t a date,” Varian said at once. “It was recompense.”

“Sure sure,” Hugo said flippantly. “Does that mean there’s no chance we can do it again?”

Varian took his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He pushed his way in and started gathering his books. Hugo watched him, leaning against his desk. “Is that a no, Ruddiger?” 

He couldn’t believe he was even slightly agreeing with Hugo but he did kind of enjoy having lunch with him. He slid his textbook into his bag and turned. “I’ll consider it,” he said. He tried sounding cool but he probably just sounded anxious.  
Hugo’s face broke into a grin. “I’ll count that as a yes.” He pointed at Varian, who shifted uncomfortably. “I’ll win you over yet, Hairstripe.”

Varian huffed a laugh. “Don’t get cocky, McCoy. You’re still annoying.” With that, Varian marched out of the room and he prayed that he seemed cool instead of rude. But as he walked to his inorganic chemistry class, he couldn’t help the smile that broke out on his face and consumed him. Fuck.

“How’s the roomie, V?”

A week or so had passed. To Varian’s delight, Hugo had not stumbled in drunk once or had thrown up on their carpet again. To Hugo’s delight, Varian had been going to bed at 12:30ish and had started waking up on time, thanks to Hugo actually. Although Hugo’s wake up method (throwing a pillow at Varian and screaming “WAKE UP SLEEPING BEAUTY, THE ROOM’S ON FIRE) was a little extreme, Varian couldn’t help but feel a little grateful.

He was still annoyed about the first time this happened. He had woken up in a panic and tried to leave the room while half asleep and ended up slamming into the door. He’d gotten a bloody nose and Hugo couldn’t stop laughing. 

Even still… even still… 

“He’s annoying,” Varian grumbled. He was in the library studying for computer science with his friend Nuru. Nuru was studying to be an astronomy major and both needed to take the class. In fact, that’s how they met. She was a happy, energetic girl with warm brown skin, short curly black hair and gold eyes. She always wore something purple with something spacey on it, more often than not decorated with stars.

Today she had on a purple ombre shirt with long baggy sleeves and a golden crescent moon in the middle of it with white stars surrounding it and smaller white stars decorating the rest of the shirt. As always there was a giant yellow star barrette in her hair that Varian had never seen her without. 

She was staring at him with interest. He had never seen her actually study anything but her astronomy homework. He vaguely wondered how she was even going to pass college if she refused to actually look at the course work. “How is he annoying?”

Varian scribbled something in his notes. “He constantly flirts with me and calls me ‘shrimpy’ even though I’m not even that short, don’t you dare say a word, Nuru.” Nuru’s face was contorted, as if she was going to say something but she clapped a hand over her mouth. Varian glared at her for a second before returning to his notes. “He’s a total neatfreak, which is weird considering he hasn’t washed his jacket in the past week. He snores so much and he’s always hungry and he drags me to the cafe everyday for lunch and he gets really pissy at me when I go without him.”

He heard Nuru snicker and he glared up at her again. “What?” he demanded.  
“Oh nothing,” she said in a tone that definitely meant something. “It’s just… you’re talking about him like you’re an old married couple.” 

Varian dropped his pencil in shock. “What? Nuru!”

Nuru cackled loudly and the librarian shot her a dirty look. She quickly zipped her mouth shut and lowered her head. “From what you’ve told me, he doesn’t seem that bad. All your complaints are pretty minor in the grand scheme of things.”

“How would you know?”

To his surprise, she grimaced. “My old roommate was the absolute worst. She was a complete slob, she came in drunk one night and threw up on my bed and me and once-” Nuru cut off to shudder. “I caught her using my toothbrush… to clean the toilet.”

Varian’s face contorted to that of sympathy and disgust. “Nuru I am so sorry.”

She shrugged. “I filed a complaint and asked for a new roommate and they actually gave me one. She’s chill, responsible and cute, so it’s a win for me.”

Varian felt himself start to smile again and he quickly looked back at his notes. “You got lucky, Nuru. I’m stuck with Ponytail McCoy.”

Nuru giggled. “Varian, you’ve known McCoy for a week. That’s hardly enough time to form an opinion about him.” Varian opened his mouth to argue but she stopped him. “Why don’t you hang out with him a little more? It’s always good to spend time with your roommate.”

Varian’s expression soured. “Are you trying to set us up, Nuru?”

She just laughed and pulled out her phone. “For my sake and yours, talk to the damn boy. If he turns out to be a serial killer, you can blame me.”

“How comforting,” Varian deadpanned. Nuru snorted.

It was 11:20 something and Hugo still wasn’t back from… wherever he went after he pestered Varian to have dinner with him. Varian was sitting at his desk slaving over his calculus homework, mindlessly chewing at his eraser.

In his mind, he hung out with Hugo plenty. The two ate together twice and they shared a room. How much closer did Nuru want from him?

Hang out with Hugo. It felt like she’d given him a court sentencing. 

The door clicked open and 5 feet and 10 inches of trouble staggered in, backpack on. Speak of the devil. Varian didn’t even glance up from his homework. “You’re late.”

He could sense Hugo rolling his eyes at him. There was a thump behind him. No doubt Hugo throwing off his backpack. “Sorry, dear.”

Varian ignored him. Hugo started shuffling around in the background. There were a few more softer thuds and then a zipper being undone. Varian continued working. He only had 2 more problems left and then he could finally start on his chemistry paper that was due next week. He scribbled down the answer to a problem before freezing. It was much too quiet for his liking. Holding his breath, he turned around to see Hugo clutching his physics textbook and notebook to his chest, a pencil tucked behind his ear. 

“What is it?” Varian asked.

Hugo coughed into his fist. “I uh, well. Heh. This is embarrassing but can you help me?”

“You need to be more specific, Hugo. You need help on a lot of things.”

Hugo scowled. “Cut it out, Hairstripe, I’m serious.” He sauntered over to Varian and slammed his textbook over Varian’s homework. Varian stared up at him in confusion. “I don’t understand a thing in this lesson and you seem smart so I figured I’d ask you.”

Varian blinked at him. He had finished his physics homework first right after dinner and hadn’t even thought about it in the hours that had passed. He glanced back at his homework and then back up at Hugo. A part of him, a selfish part of him, wanted to decline simply on the merit that it’s Hugo McCoy asking for help. But the logical part of him slapped the selfish half. Varian sighed and twisted around in his chair to fully face Hugo. 

“Show me exactly what you don’t understand,” he said. 

Hugo grinned so bright that Varian had to squint. “You’ll help? Really?”

“If you don’t tell me what you don’t get, then I won’t.”  
“Okay, okay!” Hugo leaned over Varian as he swiveled back around. He reached for his physics textbook and opened it to the first chapter. 

“Point out the problem,” Varian said.

Hugo vaguely gestured to the entire two-page spread. Varian put his head in his hands and sighed loudly. “You need help with the entire chapter?” 

“Well, actually, I’m not sure how to do this uh problem. And I mean the first pages describe it so I guess I kind of need help with the entire chapter so…” Hugo trailed off and Varian lifted his head.

“Show me it.”

Hugo leaned further over Varian and Varian tried to ignore his hot breath on his neck. He flipped to the next page and pointed out the problem. “See, I kind of understand it but I don’t know how to set it up.”

Varian turned his head and nearly reeled back when he saw how close their heads were. He cleared his throat and leaned away. “Well, here. Hand me your notebook.” Hugo did and Varian opened it to a blank page and picked up his pencil. He started to write out the problem. “So you’re trying to transfer meters per second to kilometers per hour, right?” He didn’t wait for Hugo to answer and instead plowed forward. “So what you want to do is figure out how many seconds are in an hour and then how many meters are in a kilometer.”

Hugo twisted his heads towards Varian in surprise. “That’s it?”

“Well, you have to do the math too. So you’d put 1 meter over 1 second-” Hugo’s eyes followed his hand as he wrote- “times 3600 seconds over 1 hour-” He felt them burrow into him and his face grew hot- “time 1 kilometer over 1000 meters.” Hugo’s chin was practically resting on his shoulder. Varian kept his head down out of fear that it was completely red. “Can you do the rest?”

He didn’t see Hugo respond but he must’ve because a few seconds later, he heard him say, “3.6 kilometers per hour.” Hugo sounded so proud of himself that Varian couldn’t help but smile.

“Did you do that in your head?” Varian teased. He risked a glance over and saw Hugo standing behind him. A slight pang of disappointment coiled in his stomach. He brushed it aside. 

“Phone calculator.” Varian noticed immediately that Hugo was back to his old smirking self. 

Varian twisted his chair so they were facing each other again. “How helpful.” He looked down at his lap. “Can you figure the rest out by yourself? Or do you need more help?” A strange part of him silently yearned for the latter. He wanted, for some insane reason, Hugo’s chin resting on his shoulder, his hot breath tickling his neck. What was wrong with him? 

“Well…” Hugo said, drawing out the word, “that’s just one problem. There are so many more of many different varieties.”

Varian glared up at him. “You need more help,” he deadpanned.”

“I need more help,” Hugo agreed. He was still smiling so either he was lying or he actually wanted Varian to tutor him. Varian rolled his eyes.

“I still need to finish my homework, Hugo, so I can’t spend an eternity on you. 15 minutes. Then you’re on your own.”

Hugo’s smile widened. “That’s a deal, Hairstripe.”

“Varian.” Hugo ignored him and practically skipped to his bed. He flopped down on it and then patted the spot next to him.

“Ruddiger. Come here.” 

“What?” Varian felt his face grow warm again. No. There was no way in hell that Hugo wanted Varian to sit on his bed. And there was no way he was actually going to do it. “Can’t we just-”

Hugo cut him off. “I’m not leaning over you for 15 minutes. That’s horrible for my posture. Now get over yourself and get over here.” He patted the spot again, this time more forcefully. “And bring my shit over.”

Varian huffed yet he felt a grin start to creep onto his face. He smothered it just as face. “Yes, your highness.” He stood and gathered Hugo’s stuff, tucking a pencil behind his ear. He turned around to see Hugo staring at him. Blatantly. “What?”

Hugo blinked and then shook his head. “Nothing. Hurry up, we’re wasting time.” 

Varian sat next to Hugo and put the notebook and textbook between them. “Alright. Point out the next problem.”

It went like that for the next 15 minutes. Hugo would show Varian a problem he didn’t understand, Varian would explain it and then Hugo would do it himself. As time passed, the two subconsciously drew closer together. When Varian looked up to tell Hugo that the time was up, he could make out all the different shades of green in Hugo’s eyes. He felt himself try to flinch back but he stopped himself. 

He never addressed the obvious but Hugo was good looking. Despite the undercut and ponytail and the smug smile he constantly wore, he was tall with defined cheekbones and eyes that sparkled whenever he was happy or amused. He had a smattering of freckles across his nose that were pale against his skin. The two locked eyes and Varian heard Hugo’s breath catch.

Then there was a weight on his hand. He took a chance look down and saw Hugo’s pale hand over his. He bit his lip. Was Hugo drawing closer? 

He was. He leaned over and whispered in Varian’s ear, “Of course our first date would be a study date you fucking nerd.”

That instantly broke the spell and Varian shoved Hugo away. Hugo was grinning like the little shit he was but there was a hint of remorse in his eyes. Varian stood abruptly. “Alright, we’re done. And you owe me. Again.”

“Another lunch date?” Hugo asked. Varian rolled his eyes.

“Whatever.” He turned away and stomped back over to his desk. He felt Hugo’s gaze on his back. His hand that was under Hugo’s felt just a little colder. He clutched his hands together as he sat. 

As he bent over his work, he heard Hugo say quietly, “Thanks.”

He bit his lip again. “No problem.” 

There was shuffling behind him. Hugo getting ready for bed no doubt. The door to the bathroom opened and closed, leaving Varian alone. The second Hugo was gone, Varian put his head on the desk. He could still faintly feel Hugo’s hand covering his. What the hell was wrong with him?

What was that?

A week passed and the “incident” went unmentioned between the two of them.

Hugo still came to Varian at night and begged him for help, always on physics and nothing else. They crowd on one of their beds or on the floor and spread their notebooks and textbooks in front of them. Sometimes they do their homework together if Hugo catches Varian early enough. Varian always wondered what Hugo’s doing that kept him every night but he decided not to ask. 

Despite all of this, they hadn’t yet had a moment like the one last week. Hugo hadn’t reached for Varian’s hand and vice versa. However, Varian sometimes felt heavy eyes on him. Whenever he looked, though, Hugo’s focus was trained on his notebooks. 

Varian told all of this to Nuru and when he did, she began laughing and didn’t stop for 5 minutes. Then she abruptly changed the subject. Varian thought this was odd but Nuru was always a little sporadic so he didn’t think about it any more afterwards. 

However, not once did the two do chemistry together. The two were rather proficient at it and always finished the homework with ease. Therefore, neither felt the need to do it as a team. 

One day, Varian rushed into chemistry class a little late, no surprise there, and was surprised to see Hugo standing behind one of the many tables. Each table had a variety of chemicals laid out on them and pairs of two were standing next to the tables. Except Hugo, who stood alone. Varian walked over to the rest of his class slowly. Hugo didn’t seem to notice him and instead flipped through a thick packet, eyes glazed over. 

“Varian!”

He startled and turned to see Professor Xavier standing behind him, smile wide and friendly as always. Varian felt himself start to smile on instinct. “Hello, Professor.” 

“I see you’re a little late today.”

Varian’s face flushed. “I’m sorry, sir,” he muttered. He had no excuse except a rather embarrassing story. He was walking to this class when he saw Hugo. Hugo spotted him too. And then the little bastard winked at him suggestively. Varian, in response, walked straight into a lamppost and his nose started bleeding. He didn’t want to walk into class with a nosebleed so he ducked into the nearest building to find tissues to stop said bleeding. By the time it stopped, it was 5 minutes before the class started and he had to run to get there.

Lucky for him, Professor Xavier was lenient and didn’t mind being a few minutes late. He only came down hard on you if you came in when the class was halfway over. So he just smiled and said, “It’s alright Varian. I told the class we’re doing an experiment today and put everyone into pairs. You’ll be with Hugo McCoy.”

“I know him,” Varian said quietly.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Varian quickly walked away and when he came up to Hugo, he dropped his bag to the ground with a thump and put his hands on his hips. Hugo looked up, bored at first but then surprise creeped over his face.

“Hairstripe!”

“Varian.” 

“What’re you doing here?” Hugo set down the packet and it made a soft “tmp” as it hit the table.

“I have a class here,” Varian replied. “I didn’t know you did.”

“What can I say?” Hugo said with a shrug. “I’m full of surprises.”

Varian repressed the urge to either roll his eyes or punch Hugo in the arm and instead looked at the packet Hugo was skimming. “What’s this?”

Hugo groaned. “Some boring shit. I don’t know, I was half asleep reading it.”

Varian glared at him. “Hugo, these are instructions. They’re kind of important.” 

Hugo shrugged. “I guess. But the experiment is simple enough. Put that in this and this happens.”

“Are you sure you want to be a chemist?”

Before Hugo could reply, Professor Xavier stepped in front of the class. “Okay, class! Today, you’ll be applying your knowledge over the past 2 weeks to complete this experiment. I will not be helping with anything unless it’s an emergency. The only people you can rely on are your partner and yourself. Everything is in the packet I handed out. You have until 10 minutes before class ends to finish. Ready… go!”  
The other students immediately set to work. Varian slid on gloves and put goggles over his eyes. As expected, the goggles were smudged and foggy but Varian didn’t mind. He looked over to see Hugo messing with random chemicals. Varian shooed him away. “What are you doing? At least put on safety equipment before you start touching shit.”

Hugo made a noise but he listened to Varian and took out his own goggles and gloves. As he adjusted them, Varian picked up the packet, only to have it slapped out of his hands. He glared up at Hugo. “What are you doing?” he asked again.

“We aren’t following that. We’re doing it totally by ourselves.”

He couldn’t be serious. “You cannot be serious. We have to follow the packet to know what to do. We can’t just go off.”

“Can’t we?” Hugo wiggled his brow and Varian resisted the urge to push him. Or kiss him.

Wait what?

Varian shakes off the feeling. “No we can’t. Stop being ridiculous, Hugo.”

“I’m not being ridiculous, Hairstripe! Come on, this is a great way to learn. We’re doing the assignment but in our own way.” At Varian’s skeptical and annoyed face, Hugo huffed. “How about this: we read what we’re supposed to get and then we do it our own way. How about that?”

Hugo was being ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Varian certainly wasn’t tempted to listen to him and go off on their own. It certainly wouldn’t be a good experience for him. He wasn’t tempted at all. 

Not one bit. 

He crossed his arms over his chest. “If we fail, I will put all the blame on you.”

Hugo’s returning smile was bright enough to lit up a small city. “Duly noted! Now let’s see what we’ll be doing today.” He took the packet and flipped through it. Varian leaned against the and watched. 

One thing that Varian had learned from a week of studying with Hugo was that, against all odds, he was smart. He was amazing at improvisation and memorization. He was also outstanding at chemistry. Almost as good as Varian. Maybe even better.  
If this were anyone else, Varian would have never said yes to such a crazy scheme. Yet here he was, watching as Hugo set (read slammed) the packet back down and began fiddling with some chemicals. 

“I really hope you know what you’re doing,” Varian said. 

“Oh ye of little faith.” Hugo waggled a tube of… something at Varian and fumbled when it started to slip out of his gloved hands. Varian snickered. Hugo glared at him. “Hush up and help me, Ruddiger.”

Varian straightened up and looked down at the packet. He skimmed the final page quickly. “Alright, seems simple enough,” he muttered. “If we’re careful, we can finish it easily.” He looked up to see Hugo pouring one of the substances into a beaker. “What are you doing?”

Hugo maintained eye contact with him as he slowly poured the entirety of the test tube into the beaker. “What does it look like, Ruddiger?”

Varian sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. “And here I thought you were a competent human being. Here, stop.” Varian pried the test tube out of Hugo’s grasp and took the beaker as well. “Tell me what you’re doing.”

Hugo huffed, annoyed. Whether or not he was actually annoyed was debatable. “I’m mixing chemicals together so we can pass the lesson.”

Varian wanted to slap him. “Okay, yeah, I get that. But are you just picking chemicals out of random and mashing them together to see if they work?”

“No!” Hugo said defensively. He snatched back the beaker and Varian wanted to warn him to be careful. “If you were paying attention in class, you need a surplus of a chemical in order to complete the mixture.” 

“I-” Varian paused. He did remember Professor Xavier saying something about that a couple days ago. Dammit he hated it when Hugo’s bullshit was actually correct. “Alright fine. Now what?”

Hugo picked up another test tube and handed it to Varian. “Pour about half of that in,” he instructed as if he were the professor. Varian rolled his eyes but did it. He was still a little unsure about the whole Listening to Hugo thing but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little curious.  
The two went along like that for a few more minutes, Hugo picking and choosing test tubes seemingly at random. But even then, he acted so confident as each chemical went into the mixture. Varian found himself tracking his movements: the way his ponytail slid over his shoulder as he moved, his mouth quirking into a smirk every once in a while, his hands fumbling with the test tubes. Most of the time, Varian watched and observed people like they were experiments. He found their behaviors fascinating in how they did them everyday and never seemed to notice. 

But as he watched Hugo, he felt something stirring in his stomach. Something like… affection? 

Varian slapped a hand on his cheek to snap himself out of it. Stop it, Varian, he chided himself. No falling for the attractive, somewhat idiotic roommate.

“Hairstripe?” 

He looked up a little too quickly and his head grew light. Hugo held their mixture and a test tube in his hands. He was grinning yet his eyes seemed confused. “Ready to add the last ingredient?”

Varian leaned against the table, feigning casualness. “You’re acting as if we’re baking.” 

“I mean, we can, but one step at a time, Ruddiger.” Hugo set the beaker down and held the test tube over it. “Now watch as I add the last chemical!” He was so theatrical. Varian was kind of reminded of himself as a teenager. 

Hugo poured the chemical into the beaker, Varian watching in interest, and the second it hit the mixture, a large plume of smoke exploded from it, covering Hugo and Varian’s faces. They backed away quickly, coughing and waving their hands in front of their faces to clear it. Varian peeked one eye open to see the smoke spreading across the room. Other students began to cry out and he heard the professor say, “Not to worry, not to worry! I’ll handle it.” 

Varian stumbled as he continued to back away and tripped over his feet. Before he could hit the ground, he felt a firm hand on his arm. He immediately leaned into the person and muttered a quiet, “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it, Ruddiger,” Hugo’s voice replied.

He considered shoving Hugo down for filling the room with smoke (although it was partially Varian’s fault too) but Hugo was keeping him upright so he left him be. 

Soon, the entire class was evacuated into the hallway, muttering to each other as they went. Hugo was still holding onto Varian’s arm and for once, the two made no move to separate. They were silent for a moment before Varian broke it. “Did you know that would happen?”

Hugo wouldn’t look at him. “No comment.” 

Varian felt his jaw drop. This asshole tricked him! “You ass! You actually wanted to make a smoke bomb?”

Hugo’s jaw worked. “Maybe.”

“Dick! Why?” Despite his growing anger, he couldn’t help the laugh that burbled up in his throat right after he asked this. He felt duped but in the best possible way.

Once Varian started laughing, Hugo looked over, as if checking that it was alright, and started laughing too. They leaned against each other, laughing hard, as the rest of the class looked on in horror and confusion. “They probably think we’re psychotic,” Varian said quietly to Hugo.

“Let them,” Hugo snorted back. 

They continued their laughter until Professor Xavier came into the hallway and promptly stopped them into their tracks. He held up their beaker, which was charred and black. “Here’s a warning to all you kids. Don’t put too many chemicals in at a time.” He eyed Hugo and Varian as he said this and the two bowed their heads in shame.

“Yes, professor,” they chorused.

Lucky for them, Professor Xavier was extremely forgiving. He simply sighed and put his hands on his hips. “Why don’t you two go to the bathroom and clean up?” 

Varian looked up and frowned. “Clean up, sir?” 

Hugo turned to him and then started laughing again. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice!” He reached over and, before he could protest, ran a finger over Varian’s cheek. Varian blushed before Hugo showed him his finger and the thick amount of char over it. Varian repressed the urge to swear at him again. 

“Well you aren’t any better.” And he really wasn’t. He couldn’t help but agree with Hugo and wonder how he didn’t notice the black soot running down Hugo’s nose and a thick layer of it on his cheeks. Hugo made a noise as Professor Xavier shook his head at them. 

“Go clean up, boys.”

“Yes sir,” they said immediately and they speed walked away. 

There was a bathroom nearby that, unfortunately, did not have any paper towels. Varian took some toilet paper from a stall as Hugo examined himself in the mirror.

“Man, I am worse than you,” he grumbled. 

“Probably because you were right over it.” Varian thrust a bundle of toilet paper at Hugo, who took it. He wiped at his face and only a thin layer of soot came off. Varian snickered and Hugo glared at him. “You want to do it for me?” he asked hotly.

Varian chuckled. “Maybe. You clearly have never cleaned yourself before.” 

Hugo glared at the toilet paper like it had personally offended him. “I have.” 

Varian took it from him and turned on the sink. He put the toilet paper under the water, wetting it. Then, he reached up for Hugo, who flinched away. “I’m not going to hurt you, Jesus, Hugo.” Hugo relaxed and Varian reached up again. “Bend down a little.”

“Finally admitting you’re short, Ruddiger?”

“I could just leave you like this.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry!” Hugo bent down to Varian’s level and Varian ran the toilet paper over Hugo’s cheeks, washing the soot away. When it got too dirty, Varian threw it in a nearby garbage and took another one.

“Take off your glasses,” Varian said, voice quiet for some reason. Hugo did, folding them and placing them on the sink. Varian sucked in a breath. Hugo looked so different without glasses. His face looked… barer but no less handsome. Varian moved to Hugo’s nose and Hugo’s eyes fluttered shut on instinct. For the second time that day, Varian felt his cheeks warm. He ran the toilet paper up and down Hugo’s thin nose, cleaning off the soot. Once it was clean, Varian threw away the toilet paper and leaned against the sink. “Done.”

Hugo’s green eyes opened and he blinked at Varian. Varian prayed his face wasn’t as red as it felt. Hugo reached for his glasses and then put them on again. Varian half expected him to bolt or something. What he didn’t expect was for Hugo to pick up a piece of toilet paper, wet it and then reach over for him. “My turn,” he said, voice also quiet. 

He took Varian’s chin in his hand gently to hold him still and began to run the toilet paper over Varian’s cheeks. Varian found himself staring into Hugo’s eyes as he worked, Hugo’s eyes looking pointedly downwards. Soon the toilet paper was discarded for another one and Hugo set to work on Varian’s other cheek. 

This felt intimate. Varian could feel a ghost of a breath tickling his face as Hugo rubbed the toilet paper on his skin. Hugo’s eyes darted towards his and for a split second, their eyes locked. Hugo looked away just as quickly. “Almost done,” he said, voice still hushed. 

Varian didn’t trust himself to move as Hugo took another piece of toilet paper and began to run it down Varian’s nose. His eyes closed instinctively as it ran up and down his nose. It felt cool and droplets of water escaped it and were running down Varian’s face. Hugo must’ve drenched it in water. As expected of him.

He was faintly aware of when there was a sudden absence of anything on his face, minus the hand still on his chin. He opened his eyes slowly to see Hugo staring at him, mouth slightly agape, like a fish. He cocked his head. “What?” He could barely hear his own voice over the loud buzzing in his ears. 

They stared at each other for seemingly forever, blue staring into green. He felt his chin tip up just slightly. His breath caught. He thought Hugo was leaning in a bit. His face seemed closer.

Then the hand from his chin was gone. Hugo was busying himself throwing away the leftover toilet papers. Varian’s heart ached at the loss of contact but he found it in himself to act normal. He crossed his arms over his chest as he said, louder and disapprovingly, “That’s a waste of toilet paper, Hugo.” 

Hugo waved a hand at him. “It’s fine, Ruddiger.”

“It really isn’t.”

Hugo waved his hand again as he made for the door, back to Varian. “You coming, Ruddiger?”

Varian hurried after him and the two were silent as they entered the hallway. The image of Hugo’s eyes staring into his burned into his brain. The sensation of Hugo’s hand on his chin, the thought of them almost… kissing? Surely that’s what was going to happen. Unless Varian read the situation completely wrong. He wasn’t good at reading people or relationships. But this was blatant. Hugo was leaning into him and looking at him like he hung the moon or something. Then what, Varian wondered, made him back away? Hugo was the most confident person he’s ever met. Surely he would’ve dived right into it.

And what about Varian? Honestly, he’s never felt attraction to anyone before besides one girl who was nearly 10 years older than him and that was just a childish crush. He could say with full confidence that Hugo was good looking. But was that it? Was that all Varian saw in him? Or was it something more?

All this stirred in his mind as Hugo broke the awkward silence. “Should we like, go back to class?” 

Varian looked over at him, affronted. “Of course! We can’t just skip it for no reason.”

“I mean, I’m sure he’ll understand,” Hugo continues as if Varian had never spoken. “And for all he knows, we’re still in the bathroom.”

He was being weirdly insistent. Varian raised a brow at him. “Do you not want to be yelled at?”

Hugo looked down. “I don’t want to get yelled at.”

It was so childish yet so endearing. Varian put his hands in his pockets. “Well, we left our bags and stuff in the classroom, so we have to go back for that.” He looked up to see Hugo pouting at him, his eyes wide and puppy-like. Varian made a noise in his throat. “Fine. We’ll come back after class to pick them up.”

Almost instantly, Hugo perked up. “Alright! How about a lunch date at the place we normally go to?”

Varian bit his lip. It was a little early for lunch. His stomach growled at him. “Okay.” The two turned around and headed the other direction. “And it’s not a date,” Varian reminded him.

Hugo grinned cheekily. “I won’t give up, Ruddiger.”

There was that cocky confidence again. Varian rolled his eyes and looked away but he couldn’t stop the smile creeping up his face. 

Months passed and Varian and Hugo settled into a comfortable friendship.

Despite Professor Xavier’s better judgement, the two remained lab partners although Professor Xavier did keep a close eye on them. Hugo now read the packet front and back after he and Varian were told that every piece of equipment they wrecked would be replaced by them and come out of their own pocket. 

Hugo had complained about that for nearly 2 weeks. “I don’t even have a job!” he had groaned one night to Varian. He was sprawled out on his bed, long limbs covering the entire perimeter. Varian had been at his desk, trying (and failing) to pointedly ignore him.

“Then get one,” Varian had said. In response, Hugo had groaned louder.

Needless to say, not a single piece of equipment had been damaged since that first incident. Hugo and Varian were good, obedient students. 

Except for the times when Hugo didn’t come back to the room until extremely late. Varian would stay up those nights, waiting for him. He’d come in at 2 or 3am and the two would do homework until 4 and then pass out on the floor or with Hugo on the bed and Varian halfway on the bed with his legs on the ground. 

“That’s sweet,” Nuru said when the two met up again in the library. They were bent over their computer science homework. At least Varian was. Nuru was doodling something in her notebook. Some girl she had a crush on. Probably her new roommate. Anyway. “So you’ve been getting along a lot better I see.”

Varian nodded. He couldn’t believe he was saying that he and Hugo McCoy were friends but things changed he guessed. “It’s been… nice,” he admitted. “He’s gotten slightly less annoying.” Hugo still made comments about his height but it stung less now that they were friends and constantly insulted each other. When Hugo called him Shrimpy, Varian called him Beanpole. 

It was a beautiful friendship. 

Nuru leaned back in her seat and tilted it as far as it could go without falling over. “I’m glad, V.” She smirked. “I’m so glad you have other friends besides me.”

Varian shoved her and her chair fell over. She shrieked and the librarian shushed her. Varian put his head down and couldn’t stop laughing until Nuru stood again and hit him.  
It was going to be another late night for them when Varian saw Hugo pulling out his nice shirt from his closet. He suppressed a groan as he collapsed onto his bed. “Hugo, it is a Thursday.” 

Hugo pulled out some jeans from his drawer. “So?”

“So we have school tomorrow. Do you really want to push this again?”

“Yes.”

This time, Varian let his groan loose. Hugo threw a pair of socks at him. “It’s just a party, Ruddiger. Don’t worry, I won’t be stumbling home drunk tonight.”

“What makes you think I’ll believe that?” Varian asked skeptically. Even though Hugo had never come home drunk since they met officially. 

Hugo turned to him and grinned. “Because you’re coming with me!” 

That one statement had Varian choking on air and nearly rolling off his bed. When he collected himself, he saw Hugo rolling his eyes at him. “Jesus and you call me overdramatic.”

“Hugo,” Varian said slowly. “You know me. I can barely stand being in a crowded cafeteria. What makes you think I’ll be able to stand a party.”

“Because you’ll be with me,” Hugo answered simply. Varian leveled him with a glare before rolling over onto his stomach. Hugo huffed. “Seriously, Ruddiger. It’ll be fine. I’ll know everyone there and trust me, nobody I know are creepy perverts or creepy drunk perverts.”

“Besides you,” Varian muttered. 

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.” There were footsteps and suddenly a weight on Varian’s lower back.

Varian grunted. “Hugo, get off.” 

“I won’t get off until you agree to go to the party with me.”

“Why do you want me to go so bad?” 

There was a pause. Then, “Because we’re friends. And friends go places together.”  
That made Varian freeze. It was the first time either had acknowledged that they were friends. Admittedly that was strange but that was how their relationship worked. And now Hugo said it himself. Varian could sense him fiddling with his fingers. He hated to say it but a part of him started to soften.

“We’ll stay there,” he said slowly, “for one hour.”

Hugo cheered and Varian shushed him. “One hour. I will set a timer. If we stay a minute longer, I won’t tutor you for a week.”

“Deal!” The weight on Varian’s lower back disappeared. He turned onto his back and watched Hugo start to dig through Varian’s closet.

“What are you doing?” Varian asked.

“We’re going to a party and you certainly aren’t wearing that.” Hugo gestured to Varian’s outfit: a blue sweater and jeans. Varian looked down at it.

“What’s wrong with my outfit?”

“Uh, Ruddiger, you look like a nerd.” Hugo snorted. “I mean, you are a nerd but the least we can do is make sure you don’t dress like one.” He ignored Varian’s death glare and continued to rifle through his closet. “Don’t you have anything trendy?”

Varian slid off his bed and stood, joining Hugo at his closet. “Trendy?”

Hugo pulled out a different sweater. “Something not like this.” Varian hit his arm. “Sorry, sorry.” He dug through the back and then pulled out a dark blue button up. “Got any slacks?”

Varian nodded and Hugo pushed the button up into Varian’s arms. “Alright then! You can just wear sneakers. And also, do something with your hair.” 

Subconsciously, Varian scrubbed a hand through his hair. He never really thought about it that much besides the morning when he brushed it. “Don’t talk about hair to me, Undercut,” he snapped back instinctively. 

Hugo put a hand to his heart. “You strike me to the core, Hairstripe.” He smirked and clapped a hand on Varian’s shoulder. “Now get dressed, Party Boy!” 

Varian groaned and pulled away from Hugo’s grasp. He headed to the bathroom and changed quickly. He brought the button up along in case he had a job interview or something. He never thought he’d ever go to a college party but here he was. It was form fitting and a plain dark blue color. It was a bit small on him and he left the top button open so he could breath. The pants fit just fine and he slipped his worn out gym shoes back on.

When he got out of the stall, he checked his hair in the mirror. His hair was slightly ruffled but didn’t look that bad. He combed through it with his fingers and prayed it passed Hugo’s approval. 

Not like he cared.

He returned to the room and saw Hugo with a white shirt, gray jacket, crisp jeans and boots. He stopped in his tracks. Hugo was always good looking but somehow, someway, he looked better. More handsome. He wore the same ponytail and Varian was, for some reason, grateful. 

Hugo was zipping his jacket up halfway when Varian entered the room. “Ah Ruddiger! You’re-” He stopped mid sentence as he and Varian locked eyes. “Oh.”

Varian cocked his head. “Oh what?” He felt himself grow insecure. Did he look bad? “Should I change?”

Hugo shook his head a little too quickly. “No no no! You look fine. I’m just…” He hesitated. “Surprised a little nerd like you could clean up so nice.” He muttered the last part.

“How nice.” Varian rolled his eyes. “Now can we go? I have a test tomorrow.”

“Fine. Jesus, Ruddiger, you’re so impatient.” Hugo grabbed his room key from off his desk and soon the two were walking in the chilly autumn air. Varian wished he’d brought a coat or something with him. He caught Hugo’s eye and Hugo took off his jacket and handed it to him.

“Hugo, that’s not necessary,” Varian said.

“I insist.” 

It made Varian’s face warm but he put on the jacket and zipped it up all the way. Since Hugo had about 6 inches on him, the jacket was a little large. But it smelled nice. Like apples. It kind of reminded Varian of the first time they met when Hugo spilled the coffee on him.

Ah memories. 

They got to the house in no time and Hugo banged on the door. Varian swatted his hand away. “Don’t bang, Hugo, we’re guests. Be polite,” Varian chided. 

Hugo didn’t answer as soon a boy with curly black hair and gray eyes was opening the door. “McCoy! My man!” His dark eyes landed on Varian. He felt himself shrink a little behind Hugo. “And who’s this?”

Being the unhelpful boy he was, Hugo pushed Varian in front of him. “This is my roommate, Varian Ruddiger.” 

“Hey,” Varian said, trying to keep his voice calm. On the inside, he was screaming. 

The boy waved. “Hey.” He stuck his hand out to Varian. “I’m the host dude. Name’s Tyler. Hugo and I were in computer science together last year.”

This made Varian frown and turn to Hugo. “Last year?” 

For some reason, Hugo refused to make eye contact with Varian. Tyler was oblivious. “Yeah man! When we were sophomores.” Now Tyler frowned. “Didn’t you tell him you were a sophomore?” 

Hugo coughed into his fist. “It never came up in conversation.”

Before Varian could say anything, Hugo pulled Varian inside and Tyler closed the door. “Well anyway, my dudes, enjoy the party! Drinks in the kitchen. Hugo, you know who is in the living room.” 

Varian thought saw Hugo’s face redden slightly. He couldn’t tell, since the lights in the apartment were dim. “Good to know. Come on, Ruddiger.” As Hugo led Varian further into the house, he heard Tyler say, “Nice to meet you, Var!” 

The second they were out of earshot, Varian pulled Hugo down to his level. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a sophomore?” he asked. He wasn’t angry. This wasn’t going to change anything between them. But then… why were they in the same class? 

Hugo shrugged, still not looking at Varian. “Never came up in conversation.” Now he looked over, gaze slightly hesitant. “Is there something wrong with that?”  
Varian shook his head. “No. I don’t care. But why are we in the same chemistry?”

“I forgot to take it last year. Stupid I know,” he said quickly before Varian could intervene. “But hey, good thing I did because then we wouldn’t be lab partners.”

“Oh however could I cope with that?” Varian drawled. Hugo nudged him and soon they were in the kitchen. 

“Punch, Ruddiger?” he asked.

It was probably spiked and Varian hated being drunk with a burning passion. He got drunk a total of one time and it ended with him throwing up in the bathtub of his friend’s house. He remembered nothing else from that night. Or the morning after. And that frightened him. So he declined at the risk of Hugo scoffing and screaming, “Nerd!” 

Luckily, that didn’t happen. Hugo just shrugged and said, “Kay. Suit yourself.” before pouring himself a glass. “It’s really good though. Tyler’s boyfriend makes it.” 

“Yeah, I’ll still pass.” 

The two went into the living room where everyone else seemed to be. There were college students everywhere, some on the couch, some on the ground, some standing around in groups of 3 or 4. He caught a few people making out and he blushed at the sight. He shoved himself against the wall, acting as if he wanted to sink into it and disappear. Hugo looked at him disapprovingly. “Are you going to stand there all night?”

“For one hour.” Varian pulled out his phone and set a timer. “When this goes off, we’re leaving.”

Hugo closed his eyes and sighed. “Alright. Geez you’re so strict.” He looked out at the crowd of people. He seemed to be scanning for someone, Varian noticed. He recalled what Tyler said.

“Looking for you know who?” Varian asked calmly. He ignored the sharp stab of jealousy that reared its ugly head at the question. Just because Tyler said you know who, it didn’t mean it was a romantic interest. It could just be an ex friend. Or an ex partner. 

Hugo flinched. “No,” he said too quickly. His face looked guilty and Varian felt himself mirror the feeling. He shouldn’t keep Hugo to himself when a possible friend could be waiting for him. That was selfish. 

“If you want to talk to them, go ahead.” Inwardly, he was wincing. 

Hugo seemed surprised. “Really? You sure?”

Varian shrugged. “I’ll just be here. You know where to find me.” His face grew serious. “You have-”

“One hour, I know.” Hugo smiled a smile at him that, for once, wasn’t a smirk. Whoever he was looking for must be special to him. Varian smiled back on instinct. “Thanks Ruddiger.” He patted Varian’s head before disappearing into the crowd of people. Varian leaned further into the wall and exhaled loudly. 

Okay. He was going to be okay. He just had to stay here and ignore everyone else. 

That worked for a bit. He stared into the crowd, eyes glazed over, as party music flooded into his ears. He kept his mind going to keep him occupied. The homework answers, the chemistry lab they had today… who Hugo was going to meet.

He shook his head. He had no right to be jealous. Sure they almost kissed but that could’ve just meant nothing. And whoever this was must be close to Hugo or else he wouldn’t have wanted to meet them that urgently. 

“Hey handsome.” 

Someone was speaking to him. Who was this? He jerked his eyes away from the crowd to see a girl with dirty blonde hair grinning at him. He already felt wary. “What brings you here?” she continued. 

Was this flirting? He was used to Hugo flirting but not other people. He shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “Uh, my friend,” he said. “He begged me to come with.”

“Thank god he did,” the girl replied unashamedly. “Where is he?”

“Oh uh.” Varian glanced around the room. He didn’t see Hugo anywhere. “I’m not sure. He disappeared a while ago.” How long ago was it? He wanted to take out his phone to check the time but he didn’t want to be rude. Although he wasn’t very comfortable here. He felt even more so when the girl cuddled in close to him, wrapping her arms around his and leaning in so their cheeks were almost touching.

“Good. I’d hate to have an audience,” she purred. 

That was it. Varian squirmed out of her grip and backed up so quickly he nearly tripped. “I uh I uh I need to uh.” He pointed around nonsensically before he dashed into the crowd. He looked around as he walked, eyes searching for a blonde undercut in a ponytail. After searching the living room, he wandered around into the kitchen and stopped short. He found Hugo… 

Pressed against the counter kissing a dark haired girl who’s back was to him. 

Varian’s stomach clenched and he felt like he was going to vomit. He couldn’t move. He felt frozen in place as Hugo’s arm came around the girl’s waist, pulling her closer. So this must be you know who. Varian backed up slowly, head blank, feelings a jumbled mess. Somehow he found himself at the front door and then on the walkway back to his room. He didn’t know how he got there. 

He was stupid. He felt stupid. The incident in the bathroom probably was just that. Stupid. Stupid stupid. He blinked away stubborn tears and bowed his head. 

He never should’ve gone to the party. He never should’ve let Hugo talk him into it.

And why did he talk Varian into it at all? Because they were friends?

They were. Friends. His heart hurt. 

When he got back to his room, he sat himself right at his desk, not bothering to even take off his shoes. He busied himself with his homework, head spinning. 

Who was she? Did Hugo meet her last year? Why didn’t he hear about her ever? He searched his brain for any mention of a girl’s name and came up with nothing. 

He put his head on the desk, tears swimming in his eyes. He wiped at them with his sleeve and then looked down. This night had been so hectic that he completely forgot he was wearing Hugo’s jacket. 

A part of him felt smug because that girl wasn’t going to get Hugo’s jacket tonight. He instantly smacked himself for thinking that. If Hugo was happy, then Varian shouldn’t be upset. Hugo was his friend and despite everything, he cared for him. Friends cared about each other. And that’s what they were. Varian closed his eyes as tears spilled. Friends. 

The next morning, Varian woke up at his desk, neck aching and paper wet. He felt embarrassed that he cried that much. 

He looked over to see Hugo sound asleep on his own bed. Varian felt himself sigh in relief and hated himself for it. He was still wearing Hugo’s jacket and he quickly shucked it off and laid it on Hugo’s desk chair. 

His homework was half finished but it didn’t matter. He checked the time on his phone and when he saw that he had nearly 45 minutes before class, he packed up all his stuff and began to dig through the closet for clothes. 

He’d finish his homework at one of the cafes near his classroom. In his bed, Hugo made a grunting noise, startling Varian. This was the first time Varian woke up before Hugo and it felt a little odd. 

Varian glanced away from Hugo quickly. He only looked at him for a minute and yet the image floated back into his brain in full force: Hugo, leaning against the kitchen counter kissing a faceless dark haired girl. Tears pricked his vision and he shook them away. Bad Varian, he scolded himself.

He gathered his clothes and left the room.

Varian finished his homework 5 minutes before class started and while he was walking to said class. When he got there, Hugo was already behind the counter, staring intently at it with purple bags under his eyes. He never looked that bad after a party before. Varian frowned in concern. How much sleep had he gotten?

He walked over next to Hugo, ignoring his racing heart. Hugo glanced up from the counter when Varian set his bag down on the ground with a loud thunk. “Morning Ruddiger.” Hugo yawned. “Where’d you go last night?” 

Shit. He was so busy with his homework that he forgot to come up with a convincing lie. His mind scrambled for an excuse and he came up with, “I felt sick so I left.” 

Hugo’s mouth frowned with concern. “You felt sick? Are you okay now?” 

His compassion made Varian queasy. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. It was just the party and the music and the lights and… you know.” He looked away. He couldn’t stand looking into Hugo’s green eyes any more today. 

Hugo opened his mouth but, luckily, Professor Xavier interrupted. “Alright class! The packets are already passed out. You know the drill. Ready…go!”

That night, Hugo dropped his calculus textbook on Varian’s desk and, with no preamble, said, “Explain, Ruddiger.”

The night went by normally. The two studies their classes, occasionally pausing to chat about something stupid. Hugo left briefly to get the two coffee and Varian laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He was acting like nothing was wrong because there wasn’t. Sure Hugo might have a secret girlfriend but that wasn’t Varian’s business. A part of him itched to ask him about her but a more reasonable, more anxious part silenced him. He didn’t have to know. He didn’t want to know. He had to be happy for his friend.

Varian rolled onto his stomach and pressed his face into his pillow. He suddenly had a splitting headache.

“Ruddiger!” The door burst open and Varian turned to his side to see Hugo waltzing back into the room, a cup of coffee in each hand. “I cringed when I ordered your drink,” he said as he handed Varian his coffee. “It felt like I was getting a drink for a teenage white girl.”

“That’s rude,” Varian said. “Just because I prefer sweet coffee over coffee that tastes like piss…”

Varian always had flavoring and sugar in his coffee. Plain coffee was especially bitter to him and even coffee with one sugar packet wasn’t enough. Hugo, on the other hand, ordered black coffee, the monster. He didn’t even put anything in it. “I don’t want shit in my coffee,” he had said.

“And I don’t want shit for coffee,” Varian had shot back.

Now, Varian took a sip of his coffee as Hugo rolled his eyes and made to sit. “Scoot over, Hairstripe, you’re taking up the entire bed.”

Varian choked in response and surprise. Never in all of their time spent together tutoring have they ever sat on the same bed. He wanted to say no and push him off the bed onto the floor but… he was weak. What’s the harm in it? he thought. Well he could possibly be cuddling with someone else’s boyfriend. But friends cuddled right? 

He didn’t have a chance to respond before Hugo shoved him into the wall and sat on his bed. Varian grunted. “Bed hog,” Hugo said.

“It’s my bed,” Varian said defensively. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he backed into the wall. “Oh my god, is that a spider?”

Hugo leaped off the bed so fast that he backed right into his. “Where where where?”

Varian hid his laughter. “Oh I think that was just a hair.”

He couldn’t hide anything from Hugo though. Instantly, the other boy’s face fell into an unamused glare. “You are hilarious, Ruddiger. Honestly.”

Varian laughed loudly and immaturely. He felt like a petty child but he enjoyed pranking Hugo as much as Hugo enjoyed reminding him that he was 6 inches shorter.

Hugo slumped back onto the bed cautiously. Varian caught him searching the bed and snickered. “Hugo there aren’t any spiders.”

Hugo glared at him in response. “Well I’m just checking because you made me paranoid.” 

Varian leaned back against his pillow, chuckling to himself. “Oh I made you paranoid, huh?” 

This was nice. Messing with each other like this. It felt normal. And that’s all Varian could ask for in that moment. Hugo finally settled down onto his spot on the bed and his shoulders relaxed. “Okay. I’m calm.”

“Good. Because I need you to grab our textbooks please.” Varian smiled sweetly at him. Hugo grabbed Varian’s pillow and smacked him with it as Varian laughed maniacally. 

An hour later, they were highly caffeinated and laughing about something stupid, homework forgotten. “Okay okay so you’re telling me you got drunk, climbed the roof of your house and proclaimed yourself the wolf king?” Varian snorted. 

Hugo threw his head back with glee. “Yep! I refused to come down until everyone else at the party agreed to join my pack.”

Varian rolled onto his side, clutching his stomach. He didn’t know why he found the story so funny. Maybe Hugo slipped something into the coffee. “And whose house was this at?”

“Mine!”

Varian laughed harder. “Boy I bet your parents were upset.” 

The laughter on Hugo’s end stopped. Varian frowned and turned onto his other side. Hugo was staring at the wall, face frozen with something like grief. “What’s wrong?” Varian asked in concern. 

Hugo shook his head as if rousing himself from a dream. “No nothing’s wrong,” he said quickly. Too quickly. Varian’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

“I can tell you’re lying, Hugo. You’re a god awful liar.”

Hugo looked at him. Varian stared back defiantly. Finally, Hugo sighed. “Okay fine. I’ll give you my sob story.” He laid fully down on his back and stared up at the wall. “When I was about 4 or 5, my dad walked out on us. That’s it.”

“You sure that’s it?” Varian asked gently. He laid on his back too, their shoulders touching. 

“Can’t hide anything from you, huh Ruddiger?” Hugo huffed. He ran a hand through his pale hair. “I guess it kind of like messed me up? I got really attached to my mom. Like, really attached. I hated going to school because I thought she’d disappear if I wasn’t constantly watching her. It took me until 3rd grade to finally realize that she wasn’t going to leave like my dad.” He rolled his head to face Varian. Varian stared back. “So yeah. Sorry I killed the mood.”

“No no it’s fine. I’m glad you’re telling me this. I mean, friends share things with each other, right?” Hugo nodded. Varian faced the ceiling again. “My mom died when I was just a baby. I didn’t know her at all. I’ve seen pictures and I can vaguely recall her voice but the rest is just a blur.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Varian replied. “My dad talks about her a lot. Her memory  
lives on in him. And in pictures and videos they took before I was born and when she was pregnant with me. I watch them every year on her birthday and the day she died.”

“That’s nice,” Hugo said without one drop of sarcasm. 

They stayed in a comfortable silence before Hugo asked, “What’s her name?”

“Who’s name?”

“Your mom.”

“Oh! Ulla. Yours?”

“Olivia.”

Then silence again. Finally, Hugo said, “I never really talked to anyone about this before. I mean, I got a therapist and everything and she said to talk to my ‘peers’ but I never have. It’s nice, you know.” He looked back at Varian. “Talking to people you care about.”

‘People you care about.’ Not friends. Why the difference? Varian wondered vaguely but his mind was tired and his eyes droopy. His head lolled onto Hugo’s shoulder. “Yeah. Yeah it is.” He yawned. 

“Uh oh. Does someone need a nap?” Hugo joked.

Instead of objecting, Varian just nodded. “We’ll finish homework tomorrow. We’ve got all weekend.” 

Hugo bit his lip. “Okay. You’ve convinced me.” He makes to move and, impulsively, Varian grabs his arm. Hugo looks from Varian’s hand to him in confusion. 

“Stay,” Varian said. Afraid of sounding too desperate, he adds, “You’re really warm and it’s cold outside.”

“I see. You only want me for my body. I get it.” But he just takes off his glasses and slides into the same spot on the bed he was previously. Varian rests his head on his shoulder again.

“Goodnight, Hugo.”

“Goodnight, Varian.”

Varian can’t process his words before his eyes droop and he falls into a peaceful sleep.

Varian wakes up slowly, the fresh smell of apples lingering in his nose.

He blinks as his surroundings start to clear and he nearly lurched back. 

He was wrapped in Hugo’s arms, head resting on his chest. His arms were around Hugo as well, said boy sleeping soundly and obliviously. 

Varian’s mind instantly went into panic mode. Oh shit oh shit. What was he going to do? Should he leave? Should he stay here? He didn’t have time to think before Hugo moaned in his sleep and his grip around Varian tightened. 

Varian closed his eyes tightly. Just this once, he thought. Just this once, I’ll let myself enjoy it. He let the steady rising and falling of Hugo’s chest lull him back to sleep. 

The next morning, he woke up alone, Hugo’s heat lingering. He groaned and pushed his head into his pillow. He didn’t think he’d ever admit it to himself but after that, he knew for sure: he had a huge ass crush on Hugo McCoy. 

As he always did, he panicked. 

He ran straight for the communal bathroom, locked himself in the last stall and then called Nuru. She answered with a sleep, “Hello?” 

“Nuru!” Varian practically shouted. He could hear her flinching. “I’ve got it bad. I’ve got it really bad.”

There was a pause. “Are you sick?” Nuru finally asked hesitantly.

Varian shook his head before reminding himself that she couldn’t see him. “No! I got it bad for a certain blonde haired asshole.”

Another pause. “Draco Malfoy?”

She was fucking with him. “Nuru,” he snapped impatiently. “This is serious. I am having a crisis. I like a guy who doesn’t even like me back and he’s my roommate so if he finds out and rejects me, it’s gonna be awkward as hell.”

Nuru was silent again but this time she was contemplative. “Varian,” she said finally, “I don’t think Hugo will reject you.”

Varian frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that Hugo likes you too.”

“Nuru, he doesn’t.”

“And how do you know that?” she shoots back.

Varian checks to see if anyone else has come in before saying, “At the party Hugo dragged me to. He was making out with a girl. So yeah, not into me.” He felt a lump in his throat and promptly swallowed it.

He expected sympathy but all Nuru did was sigh in annoyance. “Hugo is either a fucking idiot or a huge fucking idiot,” she said. 

“What does that mean?”  
“He was probably trying to make you jealous,” Nuru said reasonably. “It was stupid of him but he did it anyway.”

“Nuru come on, he was making out with her long before I came in.”

“Hmm.” Varian could see her tapping her chin in thought. “What color hair did she have?”

“What?”

“Answer the question, V.”

“Uh.” Varian closed his eyes and forced himself to picture the scene and the girl. “It was kinda hard to see but her hair was definitely dark.”

“Black dark?”

“Maybe.”

“And how long was her hair?”

“How is this relevant-”

“V!”

“Okay!” He tried to picture it. Now that he considered it, she didn’t have that long of hair. It was a pixie cut in fact. He told Nuru this. 

Nuru was silent and then she burst into laughter. “What? What’s wrong?” Varian demanded. 

She wouldn’t stop laughing. Finally, between breaths, she said, “Oh my god, you chose the stupidest fucking guy in the world.” She calmed down and added, “There’s no way in hell he’ll reject you, Varian.”

“But-”

“Hey. I’m your best friend. Would you ever doubt your best friend?”

“Well…” 

“Don’t answer that,” Nuru said quickly. “Anyway, trust me. You’re both stupid and he likes you and you need to ask him out.”

“And if I get rejected?” Varian asks, voice quieting.

Nuru’s quiets too. “Then I’m sorry. You can blame me and I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”

Varian felt himself smiling. He loved Nuru, he really did. “Thanks, N.”

“Anything for you, V.”

Varian was still smiling as he hung up. His heart was beating rapidly but he chose to ignore it. 

Even if Hugo rejected him, he still had Nuru by his side, guarding his back. And honestly, that was enough for him. 

Hugo was going out again, Varian noted, annoyed.

And he had the nerve to turn to Varian, grinning, and say, “Why don’t you come with me again?”

And Varian laughed and said, “Fuck no, you are on your own, McCoy.”

Hugo pouted. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you have fun last time?”

“No, I didn’t,” Varian said, temper rising for some reason. The image of Hugo and the girl was fresh in his mind. “What part of me leaving don’t you get? I didn’t enjoy myself because it just isn’t my thing.”

“So what, you're just gonna be a pathetic wallflower for the rest of your life?” Hugo snapped. His eyes instantly widened. “Wait, I didn’t-”

Varian stopped him. “Yes, I will be. And if you don’t like that, if that isn’t enough for your high McCoy standards, then you can get the fuck out.” He didn’t know what came over him but he was unnaturally mean. Maybe it was the fact that Hugo, his crush, was going to yet another party to be with someone else. And Varian couldn’t stop him. He’d be cruel to. 

Hugo sputtered. “That’s not-you’re-Ruddiger-” He sighed and took a deep breath. “Fine. Fine. I’ll go without you.” And he promptly turned and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Varian stuck his tongue out at it, heart falling in his chest. 

Fine, he thought. I’ll just do my homework without him. 

And he did just that until around 1am when Hugo came bursting through the door. Instantly, Varian knew something was wrong when he noticed that Hugo was drunk out of his mind. He stood from his desk chair and went over to Hugo so fast he might as well have teleported. “Hugo! Jesus Christ, you’re wasted.”

Hugo leaned on Varian, muttering something under his breath, tripping over his own feet. Varian put an arm around his waist and his shoulder and held him up. “Dammit, Hugo, what did you do?”

“I drunk,” Hugo slurred. “I drunk and drunk and drunk until I couldn’t.” He tripped again and Varian caught him.

“Dammit,” Varian said again. Hugo giggled. “What’s so funny?”

“You.” He giggled again. “You and your freckly face and your stupid blue streak.”

“Thanks. You’re going to bed.”

“What noooo. Varian, don’t make me go to bed.” 

Varian promptly ignored the fact that Hugo called him by his given name instead dragging him to his bed as Hugo chanted, “Freckle face. Freckle face.”

He was going to punch him in the morning for this. 

He sat Hugo onto his bed and took off his shoes, socks and glasses. Then he laid him down on his bed, bringing the covers up to his chin. He got a water bottle and aspirin and set it on Hugo’s nightstand. 

“You’re so good to me, Varian,” Hugo muttered. 

Varian tried to ignore him but he froze when Hugo said, “You’re so cute when you’re mad. That’s why I tease you all the time. Cause your face gets all red and your freckles pop and I love all those cute little freckles.” 

Slowly, Varian faced Hugo, jaw dropped. He picked it up and said, “Hugo. You are extremely drunk. You’re going to regret saying this in the morning.”

“You don’t know that,” Hugo said grumpily. Varian sighed and turned back around. Ignore him, ignore him. “You don’t know a lot of things.”

“Oh? And what don’t I know?” Varian asked, mostly just to humor him. Hugo didn’t reply so Varian started to get himself ready for bed. As he walked to the door, he heard Hugo’s voice behind him.

“I love you.”

Varian froze and then turned in place. “I’m sorry what?”

“I love you. A lot. I have for a while. It’s made me sad.” Hugo yawned. “Goodnight, Varian.” And the asshole promptly fell asleep.

Varian’s back slammed against the door and he sank to the ground. He put his head in his hands and tried not to scream.

Hugo confessed. But was he just drunk or was he telling the truth?

Feelings were messy. Varian hated them so much. 

Eventually, he got to his feet and wandered to Nuru’s dorm. He knocked on her door, head elsewhere.

She answered looking annoyed. “What do you want, V? It’s 1 fucking am.” 

“Hugo said he loved me,” Varian blurted. Nuru blinked at him. 

“That’s...good?”

“No it isn’t! Because he’s drunk and I have no clue if he’s being serious or not.”

“Varian you know what I think.”

“I do know. But I also know that people say stupid shit when they’re drunk.” Varian hung his head. “Nuru,” he said quietly, “I have no clue what I’m going to do if he tells me he was just drunk.”

Her face softened. “Varian.” She opened her arms and held Varian as he crumpled.

After all the shit he’s been through, this shouldn’t be what broke him. He had just been to confessed to and here he was crying in his best friend’s arms. Hugo McCoy was the best and worst thing to happen to him. 

He loved him. And he didn’t regret it. 

Nuru let him sleep in her room. “I’ll sleep in Yvonne’s bed,” she said, barely hiding her glee when Yvonne didn’t mind at all. Varian was happy for his friend but right now, all he wanted to do was collapse onto his bed and sleep.

He woke up to Nuru knocking him on the head. “Wake up V,” she said. “You have a boy to talk to.”

As Varian got ready to leave, Nuru and Yvonne sat on Yvonne’s bed giving him pointers. “And remember, eye contact is very important,” Yvonne said.

“Yeah yeah I know,” Varian muttered. He was nervous about meeting Hugo again after last night. He was tempted to just walk in and ignore it but he knew Nuru would never forgive him for that. He took a deep breath to calm himself. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” Nuru said, voice gentle.

“How do you know that?”

“Well, he did confess his love to you, right?” Varian nodded. “Most people don’t drunkenly confess their love to their friends.”

Varian chuckled. “I guess. Thanks Nuru.” He nodded to Yvonne. “Nice to meet you.”

She waved from the bed and Varian headed out back to his dorm. 

When he got there, Hugo was sitting on his bed, staring at his feet. He startled when Varian came in. “Hairstripe,” he said in greeting. 

“Undercut,” Varian replied. He sat down at his desk, mind racing. Should he just ask now? Nuru’s voice came to him. Why wait? “You came in drunk last night,” he said, voice feigning casual.

Hugo stiffened. “Sorry about that,” he muttered.

“It’s fine,” Varian said quickly. He bit his lip. Here was the big question. “Do you… remember anything you said last night?”

Hugo said nothing. Varian stood and approached him as if he were approaching a scared dog. “You said you were in love with me,” Varian continued. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, so loud he was afraid that Hugo could hear it.

Said boy glanced away nervously, rubbing a hand on his neck. “Look, Varian,” he said, “I was drunk and didn’t know what I was saying.” 

This is what he was afraid of. But Varian saw in Hugo’s eyes that he was nervous. And probably lying. So he said, “Hugo. People don’t normally drunkenly confess their love to someone. Or compliment their freckles. So don’t try to pull that bullshit with me.”

Hugo startled. “Are you… okay with that?” he said. “Me loving you?”

Varian wanted to scream in frustration. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know!” Hugo stood quickly. “Because you have never shown interest in anyone before. Because you yelled at me like I killed your family last night. Because you clearly see me as nothing but a friend.”

“Stop assuming shit about me,” Varian snapped. “You don’t know what I see you as.”

“So what do you see me as?” Hugo asked impatiently. “What am I to you Varian?”

Varian paused. Hugo was a lot to him. His roommate. His lab partner. His friend. Maybe even his best friend. “You’re my first,” he settled with. He wanted to hit himself.

“Your first what?” 

“My first crush. My first love. First roommate, first partner.” Varian chuckled. “First person to spill coffee on me and then immediately try to flirt after.”

That got Hugo to chuckle too. “It worked didn’t it?” 

Varian’s face softened into a gentle smile. “Yeah it did. After a lot of attempts.”

Hugo looked at him, face still uncertain. “I didn’t know you liked guys,” he admitted.

“Neither did I. But I loved you anyway.”

Hugo breathed out a laugh. “So you’re serious? You’re not fucking with me?”

Varian shrugged, trying to be smooth. “Kiss me and find out.”

He didn’t have time to think before Hugo was on him, kissing him hard. He didn’t even hesitate to kiss back, hands finding their way around Hugo’s neck, Hugo’s hands on his waist. After many blissful moments, Hugo pulled away. “I love you, Varian.”

Varian rested his head on Hugo’s shoulder. “And I love you, Hugo.”

They stayed like that, enjoying each other’s warmth before Varian startled. “Oh right!”

“What?” Hugo asked, confused.

Varian grinned. “You haven’t met Nuru yet!”

Varian and Hugo have been together for a month and it’s been the best month of Varian’s life.

The day after the two got together, they had met up with Nuru for lunch. It began kind of shaky with Hugo spotting Nuru and blurting, “Wow she’s shorter than you!”

Varian had to physically hold Nuru back from attacking his boyfriend and then forced Hugo to apologize. The two’s relationship was hostile until they bonded over their hatred of a certain teacher. Now they were fine together but Varian would never leave them in the same room alone. 

“Your boyfriend is fine look wise,” Nuru had said to Varian once. “Put some tape on his mouth and he’ll be the perfect boyfriend.”

He’d shoved her off her chair for that one. 

Hugo had said that she was basically Varian but shorter and a girl. “All she needs is a hairstripe,” he had said.

Varian had nudged him and then they went back to watching some trashy show on Netflix together. 

Yesterday, Hugo had asked Varian out for a lunch date. “We eat lunch together everyday, Hugo,” Varian had said. 

“Yes but this one is going to be special.”

“Why?”

Hugo hadn’t answered him much to Varian’s chagrin but he agreed to go on a date with him.

That day, they went to a different cafe than before. Varian glanced around. It was a pretty normal cafe so he wasn’t sure why this was any more special than their normal place. “Why did you take me here?”

Hugo learned over the table towards him. “This, my dear Varian, is where I got the coffee that spilled on you.” He sighed. “That’s how we met. Isn’t it romantic?”

Varian threw a wrapper at him. “Hush.” But he was grateful for that one chance that they met as they did. If they hadn’t, who knows what their relationship would’ve been like? Would they have even crossed paths much as roommates? 

The two chatted until they were called for food. Hugo went to get it as Varian contemplated what he was going to say when he came back. When Hugo arrived with the food, Varian said, “Can I ask you something?”

“You just did.”

“Hugo.”

“Alright fine.”

Varian fiddled with his cup. “That night when I went to the party with you… I caught you making out with some girl in the kitchen.” He looked up to see Hugo frozen in place, cup raised halfway to his lips. “What was that about?”

Hugo set his cup down. “That was Alaina Herdrew. She was my girlfriend during my freshman year. We broke up at the end of it. Not for anything dramatic, we just weren’t working.” He looked out the window like an anime protagonist. “I was excited to see her because I still liked her as a person and friend and we haven’t talked in so long. When I saw her, she looked like you a bit. Same black short hair and blue eyes but no freckles. As I drank more, she looked more and more like you and one thing led to another and…” He looked back at Varian, face apologetic. “Is that why you left?”

Varian nodded. Hugo groaned and put his head in his hands. “Jesus, Varian, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Varian said. “It was one time, right?” Hugo nodded. “Well then it doesn’t matter. And plus, we weren’t even together then.” He leaned over and tapped Hugo on the nose. “But if I catch you doing it now, I’ll sic Nuru on you.”

Hugo laughed, breaking the tension. “I’m terrified,” he teased. He took a sip of his coffee. “You should meet Alaina sometime. She’s pretty chill.”

“I’d love to meet her,” Varian said honestly.

“Look at us,” Hugo said. “Meeting each other’s friends. All that’s left is the parents.”

“Speaking of.” Hugo had conveniently brought them to what Varian wanted to ask him. “You live near Wisconsin right?”

“An hour away.”

“Good! Because I live in Wisconsin and I want you to meet my dad.”

Hugo nearly spit out his coffee. “What? Really?”

Varian nodded. “Just for a day,” he said. “We’ll have dinner together, you can meet my dad and my dog and I can show you my house.”

Hugo drummed his fingers on the table. “Okay. Only if you’ll meet my mom.”

Varian perked up. “Really?”

Hugo laughed. “Why are you so surprised? You asked first.”

Varian flushed in embarrassment. “Sorry. But yes! I’ll meet your mom.”

Hugo reached over for Varian’s hand and took it in his, playing with his fingers. Varian looked down at their joined hands. “We’ve come pretty far, huh?” he said.

“Imagine if I never spilled coffee on you,” Hugo said, saying Varian’s previous thoughts out loud. 

“I’d have a clean shirt.”

Hugo laughed and stood to kiss Varian’s forehead. “I love you, Varian Ruddiger.”

“And I love you, Hugo McCoy.”

They kissed and Varian breathed in the smell of coffee.


End file.
